classic bechamel sauce

2cups milk (2% in calorie calculations), 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, 6Tbsp flour, 1 Tbsp finely chopped onion, 1/8 tsp each: ground nutmeg, white pepper, dry thyme (or 1 sprig fresh thyme)

combine milk, onions, nutmeg, thyme,pepper in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the pan, cover and set aside for 10min. In a heavy 1-2Q enameled-iron saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat, stir in the flour with a wire wisk to make a smooth roux. Then, return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, about 2 min until roux foams. Pour in the milk mixture and beat vigorously with a wisk until all thouroughly blended. Scrape the sides of the pan. Reduce heat to lowest possible and simmer the sauce gently 15min occasionally stirring. Makes 2 cups of sauce

Number of Servings: 8

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MADEENA2.